Kissing in the Rain & Duel Monsters: Her First Ball
by wordsmithie
Summary: It's a special night for Mana, and she is eager to share it with her special someone. Unfortunately he is nowhere to be found, but romantic ideals will out. Apprenticeshipping modern AU. Set in the same AU as my fic "Cast Your Spell". Valentine's Day oneshot.


**Hi guys, **

**Welcome to Drabble No. 3 of my Valentine's Day drabbles. One of my personal OTPs.**

**(Note: This is set in the same AU as my other apprenticefic, Cast Your Spell. The events in this fic are triggered by the ones in Cast Your Spell.)**

**Enjoy :) **

**Words: 739**

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**\- Kissing in the Rain &amp; Duel Monsters -**

**\- Her First Ball – **

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The chandeliers looked like glittering diamonds, suspended above their heads as if by magic. Their gleams were reflected in the eyes of the dancers as they floated across the ballroom, looking as if their dreams had finally become reality.

Mana struggled to control her excitement, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest and gallop the circumference of the ballroom twice over.

She took a deep breath and exhaled. No, today she would be calm. She would be a lady.

Her fingers smoothed down the front of her dress, trailing the green chiffon that gathered under the bust, and fell down in an elegant sheath over her body. Her hair was swept up, tendrils escaping and curling artfully above the capped sleeves of her dress.

She had never felt so resplendent.

Gentlemen came up to ask her to dance, one after the other, and she placed her hand in theirs and allowed them to lead her onto the dance floor, allowed them to twirl her across the ballroom, all the while their faces out of focus as she scanned behind them for one gentleman in particular. One long-haired, soft-smiling gentleman in particular.

But it was in vain. There were hundreds of faces and she was certain she had scanned everyone, accepted dances just to spy on the bystanders, given enough empty smiles that now her jaw stayed locked in a pointless grin.

The ballroom lost its glitter. She stood by the drinks table, trying to cool her cheeks and her disappointment with glass after glass of water.

But it didn't seem enough. Suddenly nothing was enough. It had all been for nothing. All the care she'd taken with her hair, the excitement she'd felt over the dress, the confidence that had kept her feet gliding over the dance floor. All of it melted away in two blinks. She could practically feel herself wilting, feel her eyes welling.

She inhaled a shaky breath, her vision blurring. She swallowed, trying to stop the flood of disappointment from spilling out of her and turned blindly to find the closest exit.

Outside it was beginning to rain, a quiet, relentless drizzling that promised to turn into a far more ominous outpouring. Just the way she felt, she realized.

The rain droplets sparkled under the lamp-posts, slanted daggers of water that glinted sharply as they swooped down.

She was struck by the beauty of it, standing still, her head tilted to take in as many sparkling droplets as possible. It was a hypnotic calming.

She felt water droplets cling to her hair, splatter the parts of her chest and arms that were exposed to the night air.

"Mana?"

Her heart leapt because there he was. His suit was impeccable, making his shoulders seem broader than usual, and despite the rain, he was remarkably dry.

"Mahaad." Her heart soared.

He stopped in front of her, his smile fixed.

"What are you doing out here?" She titled her head to look up at him. "I looked for you inside."

He lifted a hand, his fingers brushing her cheek. "You are breath-takingly beautiful."

She felt her heart stop, and she beamed up at him.

"Your eyes look like stars." His other hand came up to cover her elbow, pulling her closer.

She suddenly remembered the rain, realized that her hair would be soaked, her make-up running. But then she remembered that it didn't matter.

She simply smiled and tipped her head up, breathless for Mahaad's lips.

He kissed her and it was softer than cream. He kissed her and her mind went blank.

The fountain gushed, blossoming into silvery arcs against the moonlit night.

She raised her arms to grab a hold of Mahaad's jacket, to pull him closer, but she couldn't get a strong enough grip, her fingers kept slipping, and her feet were tangled.

She stilled, opened her eyes slowly. Lamplight shone through the crack of the curtains that she'd tugged at carelessly before falling into bed.

She turned her head, realizing that light from the hallway was creeping in from under the door. Her mother was probably already up and having her morning shower.

Mana sighed, her fingers touching her lips. She squeezed her eyes hard.

It had felt so real. So beautiful.

She sighed, and buried her fingers into her hair, tousling it at the scalp. "Gah!" She wriggled violently in bed before turning over and willing herself to go to sleep.

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***The title of this fic comes from one of Katherine Mansfield's short stories which I borrowed because I'm a Mansfield nerd, and it's a great story. **

**Haha, so that kinda took a tragic turn. I purposefully constructed this story so that the "dreamlike" quality of Mana's thinking would be evident – i.e. with all the typical trappings of a young girl's ideal magical night. If Mana had stopped to think she would've realised that her spectre was really nothing like the real Mahaad. Who can blame the poor girl though?**

**Review please :D **


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